The Perfect Crime
by TheArchimage
Summary: "Remember Frisk, this is a sneaking mission. Try not to get caught."


AN: Special thanks to CoramDeo for inspiring this piece, and to all the members of the Fanfic Paradise Discord server for supporting and encouraging me.

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They were returned to existence by a voice whispering their name: "Chara? Are you awake?"

Chara opened their eyes. For them it felt like less than a second since they closed them, but days or weeks may have passed and they would have been none the wiser. Except, as they looked around the room and saw everything exactly the same as it was when they went to sleep, it may have only been minutes. "I am now," they confirmed. They spun around in mid-air to look below them, where a child was huddled in a twin-size bed underneath all the covers. "Is something the matter, Frisk?"

"Can't sleep," Frisk whined.

"And you decided the best way to cure this condition was to give it to someone else?" Chara teased. "But if you insist on my company it's not within my power to refuse you."

Frisk sighed. "I was hoping you knew some good ways to fall asleep."

"Sadly, insomnia was a constant companion of mine when I was alive. I never found a way to get rid of it that always worked, and likely nothing you haven't heard before. Counting. Lying on my left side if I ate something bad and needed my stomach to settle." Wailing into the crook of their arm or into some dirty laundry until they were too exhausted to stay up. But the less Chara thought about that the better off everyone would be. "Or perhaps a light snack will settle your nerves."

"A snack sounds good," Frisk admitted. "But I don't want to wake anyone else up…"

"Why not get something that takes no preparation? I believe there are some crackers and some cheese slices… oh! Or, you could get some ice cream!"

"It's almost winter and you want me to eat ice cream?"

"No, it makes sense," Chara said. "Ice cream is high in fat and that makes the digestion process take a lot of energy. That generates heat far outstripping the initial cooling effect, so it actually warms you up."

Frisk raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Is that really true?"

"Of course it is," the ghost nodded. "I know it's true because I read it on the internet."

Frisk opened their mouth, thought a moment, then closed it again. They must have realized they were about to try to talk their way out of eating ice cream. "But I have to sneak past Toriel to get to the kitchen…"

"I never said it wouldn't be dangerous," Chara said. "I would not have suggested it if I did not think you were up to the task." Frisk took a deep breath, summoned up their courage, and threw off the covers. Chara told them one last time, "Remember Frisk, this is a sneaking mission. Try not to get caught. "

Frisk slipped a pair of socks on to muffle the sound of their feet and carefully turned the doorknob on their bedroom. They crept down the hall and to the stairs, taking care to avoid the fourth step which creaked no matter how softly you put your weight down. From the stairs they had a view of the entire living room, including the couch where Toriel was sleeping. Her face was buried in the corner of the couch, her head resting on a pillow and with only a single sheet for covers. It would look shabby unless one remembered Toriel's fur would keep her quite warm with only minimal coverings. Frisk breathed through their nose slowly and evenly, moving at an agonizingly slow pace down the stairs and through the living room to the kitchen.

The fridge was stainless steel and had its freezer down at the bottom, having originally been purchased with no expectation of children being in the home. This left the ice cream within easy reach of any eight-year olds looking for a midnight snack. The sound of the freezer drawer rolling out was scarcely audible, but in the silence of a house at midnight was as deafening as rolling thunder. Frisk froze, listening for Toriel's voice or a rustling in the living room to alert them that the jig was up. They counted to ten in their head, then, hearing nothing, peered inside. There were some freezer meals of both the monster and non-monster variety, an ice cube tray, a half-full tub of Nice Cream, and human-made chocolate-coated chocolate ice cream bars. "You remember that it actually needs to hit your stomach to get the warming effect," Chara suggested. Frisk took the hint and made their choice. They received the narration, "You take the human-made ice cream. Oh… you're so hungry you actually took two of them." Frisk winced at the paper wrapper crinkling under their touch and held their breath as they slid the freezer drawer closed.

The way back was even more harrowing than the way there. Frisk held onto the popsicles tightly so they would not make any noise and tiptoed past Toriel once again. She had not moved since they first passed her, but Frisk still waited a moment to make sure her breathing was steady and slow before slinking away. They nearly put their foot down on that blasted fourth step, only stopping when Chara seethed in warning, and reached the top without further incident. Finally Frisk returned to their room, keeping the doorknob turned as they closed the door to prevent the telltale 'click' of the latch setting.

"Well done," Chara congratulated. "Enjoy the fruits of your success."

Frisk unwrapped both of the bars, depositing the paper wrapping into the trash can. They grasped the bars by the handy sticks they were mounted on, then held the one in their right hand out in front of Chara. "Here."

Chara sighed. "Is that why you took two? You know full well I can't actually eat that."

"I know," they said. "But look: if I hold one in front of me and one in front of you, and let you move my body, you'd be… well, it would be like you're eating it."

It was a strange phenomenon. Chara was able to control Frisk's body, but only at Frisk's pleasure. If Frisk so much as clenched a muscle the link would break. And there was a subtle but crucial difference between 'letting go of control' and 'actively trying to remain perfectly still' that Frisk had still not entirely mastered. In addition, Chara could feel some of what Frisk experienced, especially scent, taste, and touch. Put those two together and… yes, it would work. Chara would control Frisk's body and have them eat the ice cream which Chara would then taste, so it would feel like Chara was eating it. In theory. In practice they had never done something this precise before. Still, Chara thought as they stared at the chocolate-covered treat hovering so tantalizingly close, even if they did not really need to eat any more it had been quite a while since they got to snack. And ice cream? Had they _ever_ eaten ice cream before? They honestly could not remember.

They had taken too long to respond, however, and Frisk's shoulders drooped. "Sorry," they mumbled. "It was a dumb idea, I guess."

"Well hold on, I didn't say I wouldn't try it!" Chara hastily tried to mimic Frisk's position, one hand in front of them and the other holding something on a stick off to the side. While not strictly necessary it was easier to move Frisk's body in ways human bodies could actually be moved if they started from the same position. Chara closed their left hand over the ice cream held by Frisk's right. Chara swallowed, feeling the heat from Frisk's fingers travel up their arm and nestle in around their cheeks. Now that they thought about it, this was actually rather intimate. W-well, they were both still children. It was nothing to get upset about. Even Chara could get close to people once in a while. They only hoped Frisk would not-

Frisk giggled, "Aw! It's like we're holding hands!" Ah, that dumb kid, why did they have to point it out?! Could they not tell Chara was already self-conscious about it! "You can start whenever you're ready. Just don't eat so fast I get a headache."

"No promises," Chara teased. They took a deep breath and focused on the ice cream. How does one eat these? They knew ice cream cones were licked, but if they did that they would only get a tongueful of chocolate coating. Which did not sound bad, but the real prize was inside. They supposed they would need to bite through. And, regardless of whether they could taste it or not, the ice cream in front of Chara would not get any smaller no matter how much they ate. That might break the illusion. So Chara closed their eyes before they leaned forward, biting into the chocolate coating. The ice cream itself was a smooth and rich chocolate which contrasted well with the more mild coating. Objectively speaking it was only okay as far as chocolate went, but for a child who had not had chocolate for a very long time it was heavenly. They chewed on the coating long enough for it to partially melt and get stuck between their molars, but they did not care. Within a few moments they had eaten the entire thing and were sucking the last bits of ice cream stuck to the wooden stick.

"Okay," they said finally, letting their hands drop. "I'm done. You can move your body now." Chara opened their eyes and looked at Frisk. They immediately had to stifle a guilty snicker. "Uh, whoops. A little bit, got on your face…"

Frisk shrugged with a laugh, not even bothering to wipe off the brown smudges on their chin and nose. "I'm just glad you got to enjoy it." Their throat burned from the cold, and they exhaled several times in quick succession in an attempt to warm it up while they threw away the moist but spotless stick.

"You still have another one," Chara reminded them of the chocolate treat in their left hand. "I suppose it's too late to put it back in the wrapper."

Frisk gave them a naughty smile. "That one was yours. _This_ one's mine."

Aha, so that was their scheme. Chara narrowed their eyes but they were smiling back. "I applaud your clever trick to eat twice as much ice cream, but you do know it all goes in the same stomach, right? Don't blame me if you get a stomachache." Frisk was not listening; they had already put their own ice cream in their mouth, making a little hum of appreciation.


End file.
